by E. M. Moore
Again, nothing from Reid for a while until he says, “You need to replace Briar’s outfit. The one you ruined today.”
“What?” she scoffs. “No.”
My ears perk up. I was already listening to what they were saying, but this suddenly got a lot more interesting.
“You heard me,” he says.
The locker room quiets. Who knew a room full of boys could get so quiet? I thought testosterone basically prohibited that.
“What are you talking about?” Sasha whispers.
I smile at that. Suddenly, she’s not that big of a fan of having an audience.
“I said,” Reid replies, agitation lacing his voice. “Replace Briar’s fucking outfit. The one you dumped gravy over earlier is ruined, and she’s coming to the fucking party tonight and needs something to wear.”
“I’m sure she can wear the dirty sweats that are probably all over her floor. They suit her.”
A fist slamming into a locker makes me jump. “Don’t test me, Sasha. Get her a fucking outfit. Tonight.”
She growls in exasperation before I hear her footsteps scurry across the room and to the locker room door. I’m still wide-eyed, wondering what the hell just happened. Why should Reid care that she ruined my outfit? He’s the one who had no trouble perusing me earlier as if I were on display. Also, who said I was going to the fucking after party? I want to go home. I want sleep. I want to text Ezra about meaningless shit before I drift off into the escape of dreaming.
Footsteps come near me. I glance up to find Cade there. “I’m not going to the party,” I immediately say.
He laughs and then sighs happily. “You’re too funny, Briar. I think you need to learn that your life isn’t your own right now. It’s ours.”
I glare at him, which only makes him laugh louder. Fucking asshole.
Then, he pulls me to my feet. He’s dressed in a completely different outfit. He’s not in his shirt and tie, and he’s not in his football jersey. He’s in a tank top with large arm holes so that when he turns, I—and everyone else—can see his hard physique.
I flip through the images in my mind when I first walked in and try to think if I saw every bit of Cade. Sadly, no. I would’ve remembered. Then, my mind automatically goes to Reid. No on that front, too. He had a towel around his waist, shower water dripping from his chestnut-colored hair. Just a brief glimpse before I slammed my eyes shut.
“So, you’re making me go to the party?”
“We’re making you go to the party. Come on. You can’t pretend you didn’t have fun in previous years.”
I can’t, really. I always had fun, but that was because my brother always included me in shit. He always watched over me to make sure I didn’t go overboard, and the best part was, he didn’t seem to mind. “You really want to babysit me, Cade Farmer?” I smile. I definitely have a plan now. This is going to be their big mistake. This is going to make them rethink their whole plan about making sure I do everything their way. “Let’s go,” I tell him, slipping my arm through his.
We emerge, and thankfully, everyone is dressed now. Reid watched us approach, his stare stuck on our linked hands. His jaw ticks when he looks away. He slams his locker shut. “Let’s do this, boys. Briar’s riding with me.”
Cade slips his arm from mine with a small chuckle. My lips thin. I know this ride to Reid’s house would be much better with one of the other guys. For one, Reid seems to despise me more than the others. My current choices seem to offend him most.
When Reid leaves the locker room, he doesn’t even look back to see if I’m following him. All the way to the car, he’s a few steps ahead of me. When we finally get to his Escape in the lot, he immediately goes to the driver’s side and gets in. I feel like spinning around and taking off in the other direction, but I also know I’d just be delaying the inevitable. I have no doubt that Reid Parker would jump from the vehicle, chase me down, and forcibly place me in the passenger seat.
As it is, I get demoted to the backseat when one of his teammates says he needs a ride. Reid keeps checking on me through the rearview mirror, so I pull my cell phone out of my bookbag to ignore him. I smile when I notice I have a message from Ezra. Missing you. Need more pics. Maybe something risqué… He sends a winky emoji next. Just three short sentences, but my body heats immediately. I don’t know what to say to that.
I bite my lip, thinking about it, then type out: I’ll probably be getting drunk tonight, so I might just have enough liquid courage to do it. I also end mine with a winky face and wait to see his reaction.
Ezra and I haven’t taken our online relationship there yet. Don’t get me wrong. I had high hopes that when we met in the city, we’d be doing all that and more, but it just didn’t work out that way.
“Who are you texting?” Reid asks from the front seat.
“No one,” I immediately answer. Right away, I know it’s the wrong answer. His gaze slices through mine in the rearview mirror.
“Wrong, Briar. And before you say it’s none of my business, you are my business now.”
I roll my eyes for show. I know he means every word of it. “My mom, okay? Telling her I’m with you.”
After that, I pretend like I get another text and then actually do send my mom a text telling her I’m with the guys in case she’s wondering where I am. But I also send it because Reid might be crazy enough to check in with my mom to see if I’m telling the truth.
It doesn’t take long to get to Reid’s house. He lives in a relatively large house just on the outskirts of Spring Hill. It’s literally on Spring Hill itself, at the top, overlooking the fields below. It’s not that great of a view. Spring Hill isn’t that tall, but they had to find something to name the town after and must be Waste of Space was taken.
When we get out of the car, the party is already in full swing. Every single light is on in the Parker household. I can hear the house music pumping away as we start up the walk toward the front door. I’m not unfamiliar with Reid’s house. I’ve been here plenty of times. “Where are your parents?” I ask.
“Business trip,” he says. His parents own an online fitness business, so they’re gone a lot, meeting with various clients. If the guys don’t party here, they party at Cade’s family’s camp, but that’s a little further outside of town, so they prefer here.
As soon as we get in the house, a body flings itself at Reid. Reid catches Sasha, and she slides down his body, looking like a model from a music video. “I put an outfit for Briar up in the main bathroom.”
I look down at my clothes, wondering why the hell I can’t just wear this. It wasn’t my decision to come here, and I doubt anyone will pay attention to me anyway.
Reid nods toward the stairs, then is vacuumed up by Sasha’s lips, so I head that way. I have little hope for what Sasha has brought me to wear. It’s probably a brown paper bag, but I can also raid Reid’s mom’s closet if I have to. I really want to make them pay for making me come here, and I know the guys will hate to babysit me, so that’s my plan—making their lives miserable.
When I get to the bathroom, no one else is in there, thankfully, so I pick the shirt up that’s on top. I notice the gold glitter first. When I hold it in front of me, I see the word “skank” in big, block letters. I smile at that. Of course, Sasha would have a shirt that said that. It was probably a joke gift from one of her friends that she thought would be perfect for me. I don’t even glance at the bottoms she left for me. There’s no way in hell I’m putting anything on that may have touched her vajayjay.
I slip out of the bathroom, taking the skank shirt with me, and go directly to the Parkers’ master suite. I close the door softly behind me, then turn on the overhead light. I’ve been in this room a time or two. Mrs. Parker always wanted a girl, so when I was little, she used to let me dress up in her clothes. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind letting me in here right now for that very same purpose.
I look through the selection, and when I spot a black skirt, I stop. I can roll up the hem
of the flare skirt and pair with the skank shirt, but not before I make one alteration.
After taking the skank shirt and Mrs. Parker’s skirt, I slip down the stairs one more time and go to one of the side rooms. It’s Mrs. Parker’s craft room. It looks like she barely uses it anymore, but once upon a time, she fancied herself a crafter. I look through the cubby holes and the desk, and miraculously, I find just what I’m looking for. I thought she had tried to design their own t-shirts once, and I was right.
I lay the shirt out on the crafting table, and underneath ‘skank’, I write ‘suck’ then add an s to skank. I smile down at my masterpiece.
Skanks suck.
Who would disagree with that?
10
After dressing in Mrs. Parker’s craft room, I walk out in my new outfit and make sure to immediately find Sasha. She’s not attached to Reid anymore, but she is surrounded by all her bitchy friends out on the back deck, sitting next to the fireplace. I peek my head out. “Hey, thanks for the outfit, Sasha.”
She does a double take, and I watch as her smile fades into a scowl.
“Hey, is that your shirt?” one of her friends asks.
I give them all a wave and then leave to go back into the house. The dining room is set up as a beer pong area. The living room couches are pulled back for a makeshift dance floor in the middle, and the kitchen is beer central.
I go there first to start my plan. After filling my cup from the keg, I down that immediately, and then fill up another one.
“Whoa,” I hear a voice say.
I turn just as I top my cup off. The guy’s eyes widen. “Holy shit. It’s you.”
I tilt my head. My first instinct is that he’s probably realized I’m Brady’s sister, but I don’t think he’d have that smile on his face if he did.
He puts his hand over his heart. “You don’t recognize me?”
My mind flits to Ezra, but that can’t be it either. I’ve seen pictures of Ezra, and even though both him and the guy in front of me are super cute, this guy isn’t Ezra. “Sorry, I don’t,” I say.
I try to maneuver around him, but he stops me. “Let’s try this. Maybe if I walk away.” He turns and struts away, picking up the back of his shirt as he does so, showing off his ass.
I laugh but shake my head anyway when he turns toward me.
He groans. “You’re killing me. How about if I had Winthrop scrawled across the back of my football jersey?”
It clicks then. This is the wide receiver from the opposite team. The one who’d said he’d wished he’d caught that ball in front of me. Even though I get it now, I shake my head. “Sorry…”
He laughs. “Now you’re just teasing.”
I lift my shoulders. He’ll never know. He’ll definitely never know I checked his ass out when he walked back across the field. “So, you played for the other team today? Kind of ballsy coming here to party, isn’t it?”
He leans against the counter. “I’m not a sore loser. I knew Spring Hill was going to kick our ass.”
“Is that so?”
He drops his head. “You have more than a few players who are best in the state. Yeah, I’d say we had no chance whatsoever.”
“Not confident, huh?”
A smirk plays over his lips. “Oh, I’m confident. Just not in the areas I know can be improved upon. Meaning…” He places his cup down on the counter and reaches for my hand. “You should come dance with me now.”
My eyes widen at his invitation. I catch a glimpse of Lex looking at us. Ordinarily, I would’ve turned the guy down. Not because I’m not interested, but because I’m unsure of my dance moves at this point in my life, but I have a plan to execute.
I hold up a finger and then down the rest of the beer in my cup. Hopefully I’ll have a buzz by the time we get too into the song. I glance over at Lex as… Winthrop—I’ll have to ask his first name—leads me into the living room. I hope Lex was paying attention to how much beer I just had. If these guys are hell bent on babysitting me, they can do just that.
The beer is sitting like a lead-weight in my stomach, but Winthrop—whose first name is Chad—knows just how to dance, so I’m not self-conscious. His hands stay on my hips. Sometimes they move to my lower back, but they always return to my hips where his touch isn’t forceful but firm. We dance a few songs before he goes to get me another beer, then we sit out the next few, drinking, but are back on the dance floor after that. By this time, I don’t have a care in the world.
Lex comes up to try to get me to dance with him, but I dismiss him, turning toward Chad. Chad looks up at Lex, but whatever happens, he looks back down at me shortly after Lex walked away. “Ex-boyfriend?”
I laugh in his face. “Um, no. Not at all. Friends with my brother.”
“That explains the look then. Your brother isn’t going to show up next, is he?”
Pain slices through my heart. I stumble on my feet and Chad has to catch me. “You know what? I think I need another drink,” I tell him.
I turn toward the kitchen and walk toward the keg. Apparently, I haven’t drunk enough to mute the pain. I stand there, filling cup after cup, until I’ve drunk at least another full three ones. Chad looks at me a little warily, but he doesn’t say anything. I know what I must look like. I don’t want to be a sloshy drunk person, but it’s not my fault. He’s the one who brought Brady up.
“Dance?” I ask.
He takes my hand again willingly, leading me out onto the dance floor again. This time, we dance even closer. His hands press into me harder, and when I turn into him, my ass sliding against his crotch, it’s evident he’s aroused. Hell, I am too.
His hot breath against my neck makes me shiver. He drags his tongue over it lightly, and I tremble in his arms. His fingers grip my hips. “Maybe we should go to a room?”
I have a choice to make now. Stay out here and stick to my plan of pissing the guys off, even though that doesn’t seem to be working, or I can lose myself in Chad Winthrop like I’ve done with Lex in the past.
I nod, and his hand slides down my arm before curling his fingers into mine. We’ve only taken three steps when Cade Farmer steps in the way. His dark hair looks even darker in the low light. “Where are you two going?”
“A room,” I say, smiling. “Just point me in the direction of one you haven’t been to yet.”
Cade smiles tightly and guilt creeps over me. That was a low blow. Instead of saying anything to me, he looks back at Chad. “Winthrop. How’s it going?”
They do a bro shake that my hazy mind can’t fathom right now. I tug on Chad’s hand, but Cade steps ever so slightly in front of me again. He sends a warning glare at me as he talks to Chad about the game.
What the fuck? Cade Farmer can’t seriously be cock blocking me right now.
I try to move around him again, but he puts his hand on my shoulder and leans over. “Don’t make me embarrass you in front of Chad, Briar. He’s a good guy.”
“Then don’t,” I snap.
He sighs. “You don’t want to do this.”
“I think I do.”
A throat clears behind us. “Is there something going on here I should know about?”
Cade looks up. “No, man. Just Briar is a good friend of mine.”
I laugh at that. I can’t keep it inside of me. It’s the alcohol talking, but plus, I’m not wrong. He’s not my friend. He was Brady’s friend, and they’ve done nothing but fuck with me since I started school.
“Oh yeah?” Chad asks, sending me a winning smile. “She seems cool.”
Cade’s still giving me a dirty look in answer. I squeeze Chad’s fingers. “I am cool. Thanks for noticing.” After giving Cade a smile, I try to reason with him. “I’m good. Thanks for checking on me though.”
I move around Cade, dragging Chad behind me as I move up the stairs. One of the spare rooms is slightly ajar, so I peek inside, then Chad and I walk in. He shuts the door behind us. “I think Cade Farmer has a thing for you.”
I
laugh at that. “I don’t think so.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
I turn, put my arms around him like we did when we were dancing, and start a slow rhythm that clashes with the music downstairs. He kisses my neck again, moaning when he gets to my ear, then tugs on my lobe with his teeth. I grip him, my head still fuzzy from the alcohol, but I know I want this. This moment of reprieve from the real me.
Chad inches ever so closer to my lips. The tip of his tongue slides up my neck, then he kisses me across my jaw. My hips are pressed into his, seeking that relief.
A loud knock comes on the door. “Briar?”
Chad lifts his mouth away from me. “Taken,” he calls out. I don’t know if he meant the room or me, but the next thing I know, the door handle is jiggling. Chad steps away, and we both turn toward the door.
“Open up the damn door!”
I know that voice. Chad starts to go toward the door, but I hold back on his arm. “He’ll go away.”
In the next instant, the door splinters open. I gasp as Lex walks through the door like it’s nothing but cheap wood, Reid and Cade hot on his heels. Reid barges past all of them and goes right for Chad. He lifts his fist in the air. “Do you have any idea who that is?” he seethes.
Before Chad can even answer, Reid’s fist connects with his cheek.
I scream, my hands moving up to cover my mouth.
Chad falls to the floor and Reid jumps on top of him, his fist already reared back for another punch. “Stop!” I yell.
“Jesus!” Cade rushes forward. He holds back on Reid’s arm—his throwing arm—before he can get another shot in. He pulls him away while Lex drags Chad to his feet. The corner of his lip is bleeding.
He’s scared, staring wide-eyed at all of us. Fuck, I would be frightened too. I move toward him. “I’m so sorry,” I say.
He looks over at me. “I thought you didn’t have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t,” I say.
Reid wrangles himself out of Cade’s grasp and fists his hand in Chad’s collar. “That’s Page’s fucking sister, asshole. Touch her again, and I will fucking end you. Are we clear?”